my lucky charm
by kohlbits
Summary: as the future comes into view, can Alex and Paige handle the pressure? COMPLETE; look for the sequel
1. Chapter 1

"_WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH?!_" yelled Alex tearfully,

Paige threw her arms around Alex's neck, "Because you Idiot! I care so much that it kills me inside that you dont believe in yourself! she cried, holding Alex even tighter as they stand in front of the mall entrance in the pouring rain, "why cant you see that" she whispered intently.

This had taken Alex aback as she had never heard Paige say those words before. she pulled away slowly, looking down at the puddles beneath her feet. she took in a deep breath as Paige looked at her inquiringly. Still looking at the ground, Alex said softly in a sad tone, "its just that...this...us" she was looking at Paige now, "scares me...I've never known anybody to care what happens to me or my future. Paige wiped a tear from Alex's eyes, not breaking their gaze, but now smiling since now she understands why Alex has always been so stand-offish. she put her forehead to hers and whispered "you're my lucky charm".

The two continued walking in the rain, stopping to sit on one of the benches outside of the mall. They were already drenched as it was and they were so immersed in each other that they hardly noticed the rain.

During work tonight at the theater Paige kept pushing Alex to start making plans for the future, Paige afterall, had her eyes on Banting. They were both scared about the future, it didnt matter what for, just that they had that in common. The last couple of weeks had been a whirl wind of crazy activity; what with Paige coming out to her friends that she and Alex had been seeing each other since the Premiere, and Alex, unknowingly, was falling very hard for Paige Michalchuk.

Alex first knew she was falling for Paige when they were dancing together at the Premiere, then more so after she and Paige had their first kiss. Alex felt that even though the relationship wouldnt work out and that it was pretty much doomed from the start, she just had that intense urge to try. She wiped the last of her tears and gave Paige a smile, then jokingly said "you really know how to push my buttons you know".

The two continued walking. by this time they had missed the last bus to home, but they didnt mind, it gave them more time with each other.  
"You know", Alex began as she lightly swung their entangled hands this way and that, "I thought if I just kept blowing you off about the 'future' thing, you'd eventually give up all together and leave it alone".

This time Paige stopped walking and sort of spun Alex around towards her, then said "you really dont see how incredible you are, do you?" she asked genuinely.  
Alex shrugged her shoulers and pursed her lips then continued walking, breaking the gaze the two were sharing.

Finally Alex and Paige had made it to Paige's house first. Alex walked Paige to the doorstep, not wanting to leave her, still holding her hand lovingly. Paige pulled her close, "you're beautiful" she whispered before kissing her sweetly on the lips. the kiss lingered, making Alex want more, so she leaned in for a longer, yummier kiss. The two said goodnight before parting ways, and as Alex walked herself home, all she could think about were the uplifting words Paige has been saying all week. When she got home, she fell asleep to the thought of how incredible Paige is and how Paige keeps saying "you're pretty much everything"--words Alex had never heard spoken to her like that before. Who would have thought that somebody like Paige--complete opposite of Alex--could make her genuinely happy, but scared at the same time.

Paige had called Marco right after Alex walked her home, and she couldnt stop talking about how beautiful and inspiring Alex is. Marco loved his friend, especially now that she seems so happy and stopped worrying about what other people thought. as he says, you cant help what the heart wants.


	2. just another school day

**_Authors Note_; Hokay so...I noticed I had over 150 hits but no comments. Come on, People, make me happy and comment. tell me what you want to see, tell me if it sucks, anything!  
THANKS!**

_That day during their conversation in the laneway, where Alex told Paige that she was the reason she had "to be better" because she couldnt help it, was just the beginning. It used to be that Alex would either almost always be late for class or just not show up, but you know something, absent-mindedly she began showing up for class on time_.

The next day after the rain walk, Alex strolled into class wearing a black beater, sunglasses and backpack laying across her right shoulder. She was just a few seconds before the morning bell, and even the teacher noticed "What a Surprise!" she commented, "and what do we owe the pleasure of ms. Nunez showing up before the bell?"

Everybody snickered as Alex nonchalantly took off her sunglasses and nodded her head slightly "inspiration" was all she said with a smirk, taking her seat next to Paige who was turning a light shade of red. As class began, Alex leaned over with a slight smile and whispered "that's you" to Paige who couldnt help but smile too. All throughout class the two kept stealing glances and perpetually smiling the entire time.

Class ended and the two walked arm in arm in the hallway, barely noticing Hazel who was pretty much glaring at them with her arms folded.  
Alex snapped her gum then said "whats up, Happy" still arm in arm with Paige.

"What happened to you guys last night?!" Hazel said with a hint of irritation.

The two girls looked at each other, trying to hide their smiles, then thoughtfully, Alex responded simply, "lost track of time".

"Whatever", "snapped Hazel, shaking her head quickly as she grabbed a hold of Paige, "its time for practice." and led her on her way in the opposite direction towards the gym.

As Hazel was dragging Paige off, Alex stood with her arms folded, looking amused when Marco came walking up beside her, "she likes you ya know".  
All Alex could say was "Me too"...then as she was walking to her next class with Marco, Jay walked by and made a comment about being a dyke. Marco turned around and defensively asked Jay to repeat what he said, of which Jay responded "lighten up man, it was just a joke" just in time for Alex to get in between the two boys as a referee to break up a potential fight. She pushed Marco the opposite way and ignored Jay altogether and replied "forget what he said, Marco, its just the way Jay jokes, he means no harm by it".

"_No harm by it_? Are you kidding?!" scoffed Marco, "he's disrespectful and intentionally tries to push people's buttons." he paused then put his arm around Alex's shoulder as they walked into class, "I dont know what you see in him, and if a 'friend' ever talked to me like that I'd be shopping for a new friend."

Boy...did those words sound familiar. A thought of the movie theater popped into her head as she remembered she had said similar words to Paige not too long ago. During class, Alex was preoccupied, thinking "why cant I take my own advice? I'm such a wuss when it comes to shit like that" and she immediately thought about Paige and wondered why she couldnt be just a little more confident. She always did manage to self-doubt herself.

Meanwhile during practice with Paige and Hazel, Paige couldnt stop smiling.  
"whats with you right now?" inquired Hazel, but before Paige could answer she asked another question "I dont get why you like Alex so much?? Dont get me wrong, I'm not trying to be mean, its just that, well, she's not who I pictured you being happy with. Someone so hostile".

"She's definitely not hostile" chuckled Paige, "and besides, she inspires me. Lets me be myself...I trust her".

After school that day, Alex had met Paige outside at one of the picnic tables where she, Emma and Marco were already sitting. Marco was still a little steamed from earlier that day and was discussing the reason when Alex had walked up, absent-mindedly adjusting her shoulder bag. Paige immediately smiled and then said goodbye to her friends as she stood up from the table and walked towards Alex.  
"Hi" smiled Alex before the two kissed sweetly, with a hint of shyness on Paige's part.

The two walked away from the table smiling and laughing as Alex wrapped an arm around Paige's waist.  
"You're Marco's hero today ya know" joked Paige as the two found a spot in the grass and sat down in front of each other, gazing intently.

Alex chuckled, "Jay's a jerk anyway, somebody had to stand up to him." then she shook her head, "can we talk about something happy instead, I dont want to think about him."

Paige took Alex's hand in hers and laid them in her lap, not taking her eyes off Alex, smiling softly.  
"You better stop it Paige" Alex warned squeezing Paige's hand, "or else you're going to get me in trouble"  
"trouble? What kind of trouble?" inquired Paige as she smiled brightly.  
Alex paused, looked at the ground then back up at Paige and replied softly "the kind where I tell you I might be falling for you."


	3. tough guy

"trouble? What kind of trouble?" inquired Paige as she smiled brightly.  
Alex paused, looked at the ground then back up at Paige and replied softly "the kind where I tell you I might be falling for you."

"Oh Noooo!" breathed Alex as she threw herself backwards into the grass, covering her face with her hands "Ididnotjustsaythatoutloud!" and she continued to ramble incoherently as Paige, laughing, tried pulling Alex's hands away from her face "wait, what are you saying tough guy – I cant understand you when you're covering your face!" she paused and smiled softly as Alex continued to panic with her hands covering her face as she continued rambling.  
"There you go doubting yourself again, hun" replied Paige, still smiling with amusement as she watched her girlfriend throw a little fit in the grass, "and besides, who said I havent fallen for you too?"

"What??" replied Alex as she peered through her fingers at a smiling Paige. Alex was surprised, she half expected Paige to reject her, or at least change the subject. It had only been about a month since the two had gotten together and Alex thought she might have been moving too fast, but as she just realized, she was wrong.

Alex propped herself up on her elbows slowly as Paige sat indian style next to her smiling. Alex still had that intense '_what did you just say'_ look upon her face, so Paige grinned and said, "that right you fool – I've fallen for you too!" and Alex's face turned from confusion to a genuine happiness as she threw her arms around Paige.

The two girls embraced for a long time before Alex pulled away, shaking her head, "Its just that...you make me want to be a better person and when I'm with you, I feel like I'm on top of the world. I've always had to fend for myself, look out for myself. I've never had anybody I could count on" she paused, "until now. Nobody has ever said positive things about me or even to me - -"

Paige interupted "you can always count on me, hun." and she pulled Alex into the grass and the two lay beside each other with their heads propped up on their hands, "you're my best friend and I cant really say that about the other people I've dated." she blushed, "every time I see you my heart feels like its going to burst" and with that, Alex leaned in for a sweet kiss after lightly brushing some hair out of Paige's face.

The sun was bright and warm that day and the two actually had the day off together. Lingering in the grass seemed like the perfect end to the school day so the two laid there talking for what seemed like hours with no cares in the world. "have I told you that I think you look kinda sexy in the tank you're wearing" winked Paige.  
Thinking of earlier, Alex joked "oh, and for the record, I just pretend to be a tough guy, I really am just a softy."  
Paige chuckled and whispered "it'll be our little secret. but I'll tell ya, I like it" and she kissed Alex sweetly.

Not too long afterwards Alex noticed Marco standing off in the distance trying to get her attention. She had forgotten that they were going to be working on a project together so she stood up and helped Paige stand up as well. She glanced at Marco then said to Paige "I forgot that I'm working on um, a project with Marco"  
"ooohh, that makes me sad" as she noticed Marco walking towards them and began to pout.  
Alex chuckled, "Dont do that, Paige" and she began walking backwards towards Marco, still holding onto Paige's hand, "I'll see you tomorrow?"  
"of course, silly" responded Paige still pouting.

The next several days were uneventful, Alex and Marco still working on their project, but when asked about it Alex would become a little secretive just as she had been the last few days. Not only was Alex secretive, but Marco was too and everybody was starting to wonder what was going on.  
Finally at lunch one day somebody asked them "so whats the project for? which class?" which was something neither of them had actually prepared to answer so they were stumbling for words. Paige, who was sitting next to Alex, finally figured it out "wait, you know what I just realized?" she said accusingly, "you two are only in one class together and I'm _in the same class!_ there are no projects that have been assigned! why didnt I realize this before?! what the hell are you guys hiding from me?!"


	4. arguing leads to detention

Finally at lunch one day somebody asked them "so whats the project for? which class?" which was something neither of them had actually prepared to answer so they were stumbling for words. Paige, who was sitting next to Alex, finally figured it out "wait, you know what I just realized?" she said accusingly, "you two are only in one class together and I'm _in the same class!_ there are no projects that have been assigned! why didnt I realize this before?! what the hell are you guys hiding from me?!"

All Alex could do was let out a little nervous chuckle as she looked to Marco and smacked his arm "what now?" but Marco could do nothing but shake his head in disbelief as Hazel started yelling at him for being just as secretive the last two weeks as well and when Alex tried saying something to Hazel, Paige continued grilling her for answers.

"STOP!" Alex yelled at everybody as she looked around noticing the whole lunch room looking at them, "we're making a scene out of _nothing_!" and before she could pull out what she and Marco had been working on from her bag, the principal came rushing up – and without another word, the 4 of them were given detention, to be served that afternoon! Paige was so steamed that she left the table without warning and stormed away, leaving Alex dumbfounded. "_are you serious?!"_ she blurted out frustrated watching Paige slam open the cafeteria doors.

"what is this anyway" replied Hazel with a hint of anger, grabbing at the papers in Alex's bag.  
Alex sighed, "Nothing" and grabbed the papers back from Hazel as she rolled her eyes. As she got up to leave Marco stood up with her. "what are you going to do?" he asked.

"tell her" she said looking at him, "its all I can do...so much for the surprise." and she shook her head, still frustrated.

Throughout the day she didnt see Paige at all and she was hoping she'd have a chance to set things straight before detention, but no such luck. _And now with big-mouth Hazel, I wont have a chance to tell her first, _Alex thought to herself.

As detention began, Alex was late arriving but the teacher holding detention didnt seem to care as he just aknowledged her and pointed to a seat in the back of the room. He seemed to be too busy reading the latest trash magazine to notice what was going on anyway. Alex saw Paige, who pretended not to see her, but Alex noticed the rolling of the eyes as she walked passed her and sat in the seat directly behind her. Paige was giving her the silent treatment, so was Hazel. Nothing new there though, Hazel was always so hard to please anyway. Marco had to work so he was lucky enough to get out of detention for the day.

"Paige" whispered Alex as she tapped Paige's shoulder.  
No answer.  
"Paiiige" whined Alex trying to get Paige's attention. This time reaching into her bag and taking out some of the papers that Hazel had tried to look at earlier.  
"What do you want" replied Paige through gritted teeth as she slightly turned around to look at Alex, who appeared to be slightly grinning at papers she just pulled from her bag.

"Are you going to hide that from me too?" she inquired, still gritting her teeth.

Alex paused then said "I was trying to keep it a secret so I could surprise you" as she handed the papers to Paige who looked over them thoroughly, "I enlisted Marco's help because he knows more about that stuff than I do". She noticed a huge smile forming across Paige's face, but all Paige could say was "what made you change your mind?!" she sounded very giddy.

Hazel, hating that she's always out of the loop with these two, so therefore helped herself to one of the papers on Paige's desk and read the top "Application for Admission". She too was surprised, as it was a college application! The college fair had come and gone months ago and the college letters had already begun trickling in as Paige got her letter from Banting just last week.

Alex smiled brightly and whispered, "its only a community college, but with the research Marco and I did, I'm sure to get in if I continue bringing up my grades." she absent-mindedly licked her bottom lip, "plus, I might be getting scholarships and grants to help me pay for my first year!"  
Paige shrieked with excitement, which caused the teacher running detention look up from his magazine hastily, "no talking!" he scanned the room and noticed where the talking was coming from, then he pointed to Paige, "You, with the pink blazer, come take a seat by me, I want to keep my eye on you"  
"Great" whispered Paige as she stood up, "now _I'm_ the troublemaker" and she winked at Alex before leaving the section to go take a seat near the irritated teacher.

After detention Paige waited outside for Alex, then practically tackled her in a bear hug wanting to know more information about the school.  
As the two walked to the bus hand in hand, Alex shyly said "you've helped me realize that I can do anything and that I dont have to settle" she half smiled, "this is the first step."

Paige threw her arms around Alex's neck, "I'm proud of you, hun!"  
"what would you do if I kissed you right now?" asked Alex slyly  
"tell you its been two long weeks since you did kiss me!" yelled Paige "what's taking you so long!"  
Alex laughed, "you were the one ignoring _me_, remember?! Thinking I was doing something horrible behind your back!"  
Paige took Alex by the collar of her shirt, "shut up" she smiled then kissed Alex sweetly, not caring who saw.


	5. party crashing

**Author's Note; Thanks for the comments guys--some of them even make me laugh. love it when you R&R, please keep it up--makes me happy. haha**

Its Friday night and the two girls were getting ready to close out of work, and as they were leaving, Paige said "so a graduation party is being thrown for everybody this weekend. Come with me?"

Alex laughed, "you're joking right?" and she looked at Paige, "the only time I go to those things is to crash them. Graduation isnt for another 3 weeks though"

"people are excited" replied Paige as she took Alex's visor off her head and kissed her sweetly on the lips. The two were waiting for a ride home sitting on one of the benches outside of the mall. As their rides finally showed up, Alex and Paige hugged goodnight and Paige said "meet me at my house tomorrow?"

again, Alex laughed, "ha ha! so I can help you get ready for the party?"

Paige pursed her lips and gave Alex this _I'm going to find a way to get you to go_ look upon her face.

The next day around 1pm or so Alex was sitting in one of the recliner chairs in Paige's house. Alex was sucking on a Popsicle when she was asked again to go to the party with Paige, "everybody's going to be there, hun!"

"hmm..." Alex thought, "nope, not me." and she looked around and found a magazine on the table in front of her and picked it up, pretending to read it.

"what are you going to do then?" asked Paige, seemingly beginning to pout.

Alex chuckled, "hang out with Myself tonight. We have some pretty good conversations Myself and I do" and she winked at Paige.

Paige thought for a moment, leaving the room. A few minutes later she came back, "Ok, how's this" and she was smirking, but trying to hide the evilness behind it, "how about you meet me there?"

Alex joked, "hmm, I love you, butnotthatmuch"

"cute" replied Paige shooting off a death glare. "I'll make it worth your while?" she said teasingly as she straddled Alex's lap.

Alex looked up at her from the magazine, "_are you serious?"_ was all she could say in defeat trying to pretend she didnt like what Paige was doing.  
"you cant fight it" whispered Paige as she started kissing Alex's neck, stopping a second to nibble her ear.  
At first Alex didnt know what to do with her hands as they just grabbed onto the recliner as she let out a moan of satisfaction. With that, Paige stopped, slowly got off of Alex's lap, smiled then left the room again.  
"you cannot just do that to me" Alex said breathlessly.  
"does that mean you're coming to the party tonight?" teased Paige once again.  
"Like, I have a choice." she replied, sounding even more defeated.

A few hours later Alex had met up with Jay, "whats up" he said with that tone of voice he always uses.  
Alex thought for a moment, then hestitantly replied, "wanna go to a party with me tonight?"

"you mean like old times?" Jay said, starting to get a little excited, "we're going to crash a graduation party, how awesome--"

"no, Jay, no." Alex replied, putting up her hand to stop him from talking, then she said with a hint of disgust, "we're going to the party for fun."

"Crashing is fun" Jay said, trying to sound upbeat. He paused, "so then, why do I have to come, aren't you going with Paigey?"

"she said to meet her there. And I dont want to look like a fool by myself so I'm bringing you along." she joked, "the king of fools".

Jay smiled, "too bad you have a girlfriend, cuz we could so go cruising for chicks together".

"there you go being disgusting again, Jay!" and she smacked him like old times.  
As the two walked around town together, Jay asked, "so where is this party going to be anyway?"

"rich part of town" Alex replied simply.

"are you suuuuure we cant crash it, those are the best ones _to crash_!" he threw a little fit.  
"shut up" Alex breathed, chuckling.

Around 10:30pm that night, Alex, dragging Jay behind her, showed up at the party. It was like everybody and their brother were at the party, too drunk to care that the two biggest outcasts were walking up the front lawn. As soon as they entered the house, Jay saw a hot girl with braids looking at him as she walked by him, and then someone with a round of drinks on a tray walk by him as well, "ooooooohhhh" he said as he took the free booze, "see you later" he said over his shoulder to Alex as he followed the girl who winked at him.

_Great_, Alex thought to herself as she looked around, _I'm like Kat from 10 Things I Hate about You. _And with that she chuckled to herself. She noticed Manny dancing in the other room to what sounded like FlyLeaf but the bass was too loud to even attempt to figure out who it was. Alex went to walk towards her when Marco caught her eye.  
"Paige has been looking all oooooverrrr for you!" he said, slightly slurring his words and pointed towards a backroom where not many people were gathered. He hiccuped, "she's got a surprise for youuuuu" and he pushed her towards the room.

As Alex walked towards the backroom, being half pushed, she heard Marco randomly say, "I really like your hair, Alex. It always looks good up" and she chuckled at the thought of how drunk Marco was. So flamboyant when he gets that way.

_I did just see Spinner walk this way. The surprise is probably those two making out...STOP Thinking that way Dummy!" _Alex said to herself shaking her head. As soon as she entered the backroom her eyes widened, "Holy Shit!"


	6. you make me hot

_I did just see Spinner walk this way. The surprise is probably those two making out...STOP Thinking that way dummy!" _Alex said to herself shaking her head. As soon as she entered the backroom her eyes widened, "holy shit!"

As soon as Alex's eyes set on Paige, who was wearing a killer black dress with those sexy blue jeans she always wears, she grabbed her chest and stumbled forward smiling widely knowing that this party was going to be a hit afterall. Paige was dancing seductively towards her, sweat glistening off her chest. She grabbed Alex by the neck before pulling her close to her where the two immediately got lost within each other. This was only the second time they have gotten to dance close like this, the first time being at the Premiere months ago. This time they were together, and no holds barred as the two moving in synch with the music, and each other.

Now what a sight to see; Paige and Alex as close as two people could get, kissing, caressing, glistening with sweat, not caring who saw them falling even more in love with each other on that dance floor than ever before. They never took their eyes off each other, Alex's eyes rolling back in ecstasy as Paige teasingly kissed her neck and collarbone.

Jay had noticed this after the make-out session he had with the girl with the braids and he made his way over to get a better look. Marco threw himself onto Jay and pointed out, "you know, I'm gay. Very very _gaayyy_, but I'll tell ya, that is hoooooottt!"

Spinner could tell Jay wasnt pleased so he too made his way over to where Jay, and now Marco, was. "here, have a drink" Spinner said handing a plastic red cup filled with beer to Jay, "you'll need it if you stay in this room" and he pointed to all the other hot couples dancing too. Jay looked kind of pissed off, and Spinner knew that look because he felt the same way. "Its not every day your ex girlfriend hooks up with another chick" Jay said with a contemplative look upon his face. It's not that Jay was angry at the fact that Alex now liked girls, he was angry at the fact that she looked happy—and she never looked that happy when they were dating. He was plotting something, something mean, and he wanted Spinner's help. He pulled Spinner into the back yard and began telling him of his plan.

Meanwhile, back in the house, after an hour or so of dancing and getting all hot and bothered, Paige pulled Alex to another room, but then outside on the front porch where she was able to hear herself talk. Paige was tipsy which made Alex want to protect her even more. "Why you gotta be so sexy?" Alex said teasingly, pulling Paige close to her before hungrily kissing her, slipping her tongue into Paige's mouth. It was something she wanted to do as soon as she saw Paige dancing with a stranger just an hour ago.

"Walk me home?" Paige said after the tender kiss.

"of course" Alex replied as she began walking backwards still holding Paige's hand.

As the two made their way down the steps and onto the sidewalk, Marco came stumbling up behind them. He was obviously wasted. He stood in front of them with his hands upon his knees trying to catch his breath.

"y-you you trust me right?" he said breathlessly.

"of course my not-so-sober-friend" joked Alex, "whats up"

Marco held up a finger to let them know he's still catching his breath, but then said, "lets walk, I dont want to be suspicious. Not that it matters, he probably thought I was too drunk to care...or that he was only seeing red--"

"Marco" interrupted Paige patiently as they continued their peaceful walk.

"oh, right" he said hastily, "Spinner...um, Jay...planning something malicious..."

"What are they planning?" asked Alex suspiciously, "and why are you still out of breath?"  
"I'm Drunk, Alex!" snapped Marco, "and I'm seeing double—so Ima just gonna sit right down on this nice comfortable grass for a bit" and he sort of half threw himself onto the grass not too far from the sidewalk. He began fumbling around for his keys, found them, then raised his arm up towards the girls, "drive me home?" he said, still resting his head on the soft grass.  
Paige took the keys "how about we drive you to my house and you sleep it off"

"hmm, no I dont think so" Alex said as she took the keys from Paige's grasp.

"what, why?" Paige said sounding surprised.

"_I'm_ driving, you're drunk." she replied simply.

"good thinking" Marco said, still laying on the ground.

As they were driving to Paiges house just a few minutes away, Alex remembered the conversation they had earlier, "Oh hey, Marco. So whats the malicious planning all about?"

"Jay looked royally pissed off" he slurred, "something about breaking up you and Paige I think. I didnt listen to the whole ppplan because I didnt want to forget to tell you." and he smiled widely to himself.

The rest of the way home Alex appeared quiet. At one point she even looked frustrated, like she wanted to hit something. She arrived at their destination and put the car in park. She helped half carry, half drag Marco into the house where he was happily put to rest on the couch.

As she covered him up with one of the blankets on the couch, Paige said softly, "you better watch out, he might end up falling for you too! You've saved him from another predicament yet again."

Alex shrugged, not in the mood for laughing or joking at the moment.

"Hey" Paige whispered as she took Alex's hands and lead her upstairs, "why are you so quiet all of a sudden?"

"doesnt it bother you?" she asked, "this_ high school drama bullshit"_

"dont think about it" replied Paige half smiling as she pushed Alex into the bedroom door, pressing herself against her, "just focus on what I'm going to do to you" she smiled before kissing her eagerly.

And with that, all of Alex's worries left her mind quickly as she focused on Paige's touch. Alex then pushed Paige backwards and onto the bed, slowly sliding herself on top of her, stopping at her stomach to kiss and lightly trace with her tongue, making Paige shiver. Paige let out a moan of satisfaction, which was only muffled by the eagerness of Alex's kiss. Paige slipped off Alex's shirt and the girls were enmeshed as one for the entire night as their intensity for each other only continued to grow.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I tried making this chapter tasteful and classy, hopefully it came off that way--let me know--R&R PLEEEAAAAASEEEE**


	7. a new twist

"its not that i want to get back with her" Jay said simply as he touched his chin, thinking. "I just want to see her in pain, like a heart-broken kind of pain."  
Spinner looked at him awkwardly, not sure how to take what his friend had just said, "look man, I dont want to hurt anybody, I just figure that since I cant have Paige, nobody should be able to then."

Jay shot him a glare, "I thought you said last night that you were going to help me?!"

"I didnt think you were serious" Spinner replied slowly, taking a step backwards.

"Fine, whatever" Jay snapped as he walked away, "I'll do it on my own." and he left Spinner to wonder what it was Jay was planning on doing when school started up on Monday.

Monday morning came along and Alex and Paige were standing by Alex's locker, laughing softly and standing ever so close to each other.

"Oh look, its Spinner the Winner" teased Alex as she saw Spinner walking passed them.

"what does that mean?" he said, squinting his eyes as he stopped in front of the two girls.

"you should know, Spin" replied Paige, folding her arms, "we know all about the plot to break us up—just because we're in high school doesnt mean you have to act all stereotypical and dramatic."  
"Ah, no" Spinner said suddenly, "I was drunk, and I thought Jay was kidding but he told me yesterday about wanting to 'see you in pain'." he paused, "what does that mean?"

Alex slammed her locker shut, clenching her jaw. She then said, "I'll deal with it".

Later that day Alex met up with Jay, "Heeeyyy Lexi" he said happily,

"cut the crap, Jay" she said through gritted teeth, "just because your life sucks doesnt mean you need to mess with mine!" and she pushed him backwards, "and dont even think for a second that I wouldnt hit you right now if we werent on school property-"

"Lexi, whats gotten in to you?" he said as he straightened his jacket.

"you want to see me in pain, huh?!" she said loudly as angry tears formed in her eyes.  
"No Wait!" he stammered, "let me explain!"

Alex clenched her fist, not noticing the little crowd of people that had begun to form around the verbal fight she was having with Jay.

"Oh no!" breathed Paige as she noticed what was happening.

"wait-" Marco said, grabbing her arm to stop her, "Alex can take care of herself"

Alex closed her eyes to try to calm herself, "explain".

"I hate seeing you so happy with that stuck up cheerleader!" Jay blurted out, stepping closer to Alex.

"who do you think you are, Jay!" she said, pushing him backwards once again, this time with even more force, "I've told you like a million times to not talk shit about the one person in my life that I care so much about! Just because you got kicked out of school and graduation is in two weeks and you've done nothing good within that time doesnt mean you have to drag me down with you! We might be the same people and come from the same place but you know what..." she paused, starting to notice all the people, "I dont want that life, Jay, not with you, not at all." and she shook her head in disbelief before walking away from him.

She didnt notice Marco and Paige running up behind her, and when she heard the footsteps she assumed it was Jay so she swung around, "_What!" _she said loudly only to realize it was the one person she was happiest to see, "oh yay" she breathed as she let Paige and Marco sandwich her in a hug. When they pulled away, tears could be seen glistening in Alex's eyes, "I love you guys" she said, then looked at Paige, "I love you more though" and the two looked at each other, smiling.

"Alright love birds" Marco said, dragging them towards the school, "we're going to be late for class and we all know how I hate being late for class! So lets go so we aren't late for class!" and the two girls chuckled as Marco panicked.

As they walked to class together, the girls were making plans to go out to dinner Friday night at one of their favorite restaurants.

The rest of the week went by slow, and Paige and Alex couldnt wait for their dinner date. What they didnt realize was that they both had something special to share with each other.

"So graduation's next week" Paige said taking a bite of her food, "how excited are you?"  
Alex thought for a moment, "well, being that this time 3 months ago I didnt care about it, I think I've come a long way. And whats even cooler, is that I get to share the experience with you"

"Alex" Paige began, putting down her fork, "I need to tell you something."

"you didnt bring me here to break up with me did you?" inquired Alex, raising an eyebrow.

"no silly!"

"cuz you know, I will probably still make a scene in front of all these people—dont think I wont!"

Paige couldnt help but chuckle, 'no no, nothing like that! Its about college."

"oh dont tell me you're planning on dropping out even before you start!"

"stop it!" laughed Paige as she tried to regain her composure.

"Oh by the way!" Alex said excitedly, "I got accepted to one of the community colleges I applied to. I know, you dont have to say it, I rock!"

Before Paige could stop herself, she blurted out, "lets move in together"

"hmm, noooo" replied Alex, looking strangely at her girlfriend, "I dont think so".


	8. the end is near

Before Paige could stop herself, she blurted out, "lets move in together"

"hmm, noooo" replied Alex, looking strangely at her girlfriend, "I dont think so".

Seeing the quick change in Paige's facial expression, Alex didnt miss a beat, "Paige, did you forget that I'm going to school 20 minutes that way" and she pointed towards west, "and you'll be going to school, at Banting no less, about...hmm, 3 hours that way" and she pointed in the opposite direction.  
"Oh right!" Paige said, "you're right, that wouldnt make sense..." and a sly look covered her face, "if I was going to Banting." she tried to hide a smile.

"what do you mean, _if_," asked Alex, raising an eyebrow, "you're acting very strange tonight, Paige" she said a matter of factly.

Paige chuckled, "I guess I was just too caught up in the whole ending of school and you possibly getting accepted to one of the colleges that I completely forgot about Toronto U!" she said excitedly, still not making any sense. She noticed the confused look on Alex's face still, then reached for her hand across the table, "Ok, so this is the deal; since its too late to get into Toronto U now, I was able to do that defer program, which just means that I've been accepted for the spring semester and will transfer from Banting after the first semester. Toronto U is only an hour from here, which means its only 40 minutes from your school, which means that since I've been accepted(!) we'll be closer to each other and I wont have to sulk being away from you so much."

a smile slowly crept its way across Alex's face, "you know, thats the best news I've heard all week! Lets do it" and the two leaned across the table and kissed each other sweetly.

"so are we going to get some friends together for a huge graduation bash or what!" Hazel said excitedly as she approached her group of friends during lunch.

"As long as there's tons of beer and other assortments of alcohol, I'm totally in" replied Spinner happily, "what about you guys" he said looking towards Paige and Alex who, as always, were off in their own little world.

"I'm all about friendly gatherings" replied Paige, all smiles.

"hmm...Its not that I dont like alcohol, its just that it makes me so irresponsible that I fuck up any relationship I'm in, in a matter of like five minutes. No Joke" Alex replied simply, complete with hand gestures and all, "its that destructive dumbass gene I inherited from my parents", and everybody at the table chuckled at that last remark.

At that moment the two began having their own little side conversation, Paige whispered, "we had wine last night, babe" kinda perplexed.

"in moderation" replied Alex with the same whisper level, "if its at a party I tend to over-indulge, it's something I cant seem to help" then she chuckled, "the dumbass gene--"

"Stop kahootzing and get back to _our_ conversation girls!" snapped Hazel, still excited about graduation in two days and the parties that will be occurring thereafter.

"Do you guys know what you're going to wear for graduation?!" Hazel said excitedly. She noticed the rolling-of-the-eyes coming from Alex, then replied, "oh, let me guess, you'll be wearing black?"

Jokingly, Alex replied, "Hazey, dont make me lay you out because I totally will."

"oh what, like that time you threw clothes at me in the mall! Nice try Queen of Darkness"

"like I've never heard that one before" Alex replied sitting back in her chair, then discreetly throwing a piece of bread at Hazel but pretending as though she didnt do it.  
Hazel's eyes widened, "dont start with me, Alex!"

Paige couldnt help but laugh as her girlfriend and one of her best friends were teasing each other. She thought to herself, _this is better than when Alex and I first started dating, they hated each other._ She then recounted the last few months worth of memories and hugged Alex from behind as she began sharing her Nostalgia with the rest of the group.

After school that day, Alex, Paige and Marco sat in the park before Alex had to work to check the newspapers for apartments for rent. They were planning on getting an apartment together once Paige transferred to Toronto U in the Spring. Dylan of course would be moving in as well. A weird predicament in case Dylan and Paige's parents ever wondered why they only had a three bedroom apartment instead of a four bedroom. They were planning on getting an apartment by August then Paige would move in later when she transferred.

The next day graduation arrived! Marco made his speech and everybody threw their caps in the air before hugging each other and shaking hands.  
"Congratulations Alex Nunez!" shrieked Paige as she threw her arms around Alex, "we're high school graduates!"

Alex smiled as she looked out into the audience, scanning the room to see if her mom was seated somewhere out there. She wasnt, but it only made Alex wonder why her mom would say she'd be somewhere and then not show up. Alex loved her mom, but definitely didnt look up to her. Paige had noticed the look on Alex's face and tried to cheer her up, "stay at my house tonight? We'll go to Hazel's party afterwards."

Alex brushed off the fact that her mom wasnt there, she was tired of being disappointed all the time so she made the plans with Paige, "I'd love that" she said before hugging Paige, "can we stop at my place to pick up a few things?"

As Paige nodded yes, the two girls were mauled from behind by Marco and Paige's family, "congratulations guys!!" yelled Marco happily, throwing his arms around his friends.

"you too, Queer" joked Alex as she hugged him back. They began talking about summer and making plans as Paige hugged her parents and let them know she'd be going to Alex's for a bit before going home. As she grabbed Alex to leave, Paige's mom asked Alex where her mom was, Alex, sort of stung by that question, replied, "probably passed out drunk at home", pursed her lips then left in stride with Paige.

"I'm so pissed off at my mom right now, Paige" shrugged Alex as they walked to her house, "she knew how important this day was for me and _even said_ she was going to be there!" Paige gave her a side hug as the two continued walking in the direction of Alex's home. Paige was definitely Alex's happy place, and Alex was Paige's—they are each other's rocks, but little do they know how important their roles are in the upcoming future.

**Author's Note; Please R&R guys! it boosts my morale, makes me happy--and the happier I am the more chapters I put out. (o: thanks! YOU ROCK  
**


	9. under pressure

Alex and Paige made their way to Alex's apartment, where, as suspected, her mom was passed out on the couch in the living room. "Hi Mom" she said, clenching her jaw, making her way over to the kitchen to grab a few things.

"Oh hi baby! Paige, its so nice to see you!" Emily said sitting up on the couch where she had previously been laying with an open beer can on the floor. Paige went over and made small talk while Alex rummaged around the apartment and gathered up things she would need for the weekend.

"You guys graduated today didnt you!" Emily said happily, "my high school graduate" and she became pensive as Paige smiled, sitting on the couch next to her, "and here we thought you'd never make it—I'm so proud that you proved us wrong, Lexi!" smiled her mom, not noticing the angry and hurt look upon Alex's face.

Alex made her way over to the kitchen table, not really knowing what she was looking for, but she came upon an eviction notice, dated last week, poking out of a pile of papers which only made her even more angry at her mom for forgetting one of the most important days of her young life. _Keep it together, Lex_ she thought to herself as she balled up a fist to try to calm herself down. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Paige noticed this and made her way over to Alex, putting an arm around her waist, "you alright?" she asked tenderly, knowing how upset she must be since her mom let her down once again.

"Fine" Alex said quickly, pulling off a smile, "ready to go, Beautiful?" she asked interlocking her fingers with Paige's as they walked towards the door. She intentionally forgot to say goodbye to her mother, but Paige waved at least.

A few hours after they arrived at Paige's, Alex, who was still steamed, said "do you mind if I take a walk for a bit?"

"but the party is in just a couple hours, hun" Paige pouted, making Alex slightly smile.

"I'll meet you there" she replied, holding Paige's hand and pulling her into a body hug, "I just need some time alone to think." she pursed her lips, trying to hold back angry tears, still thinking about how much her mom sucked right now. The two kissed sweetly before Alex ventured out on her own, just missing Marco pulling into the driveway. Paige met him outside where they hugged hello, "where's my favorite lesbian, Alex?!" he inquired, wanting to give her a hug too.

"she's not too happy tonight" Paige shrugged, "her mom blew it again, Marco." she looked pensive, "I think I'm worried about her."

Marco hugged his friend again, trying to let her know that everything would be okay, "she's got us" he winked, "we wont let nothin' happen to her" and with that, the two walked inside the house to finish getting ready for the ultimate party of the year.

"what the _fuuuck_" Alex said loudly as she walked alone in the park, "why does everything have to start going well for once in my life and then some bullshit thing like this happens!" she found a swing and started to slowly swing on it, still talking to herself. _You know what_, she thought to herself as she continued swinging, brushing some strands of her beautiful black hair out of her face, _I dont give a shit. I'm going to have a good time tonight, I dont care what anybody says._ And with that, a little smile appeared.  
The party had already started and Paige and everybody else were probably already there, so Alex made her way towards the house where the party was going to be, just meandering along, trying to smell the roses and figure out ways to not stay pissed off.

When Alex turned onto the street where the house was, she could already hear, and feel, the vibration of the music in the house several houses down. As she got closer, she noticed a few kids showing up with more kegs, and several more play-fighting in the front yard. As she entered the house, she paused and scanned the room for a familiar face. She noticed Hazel right away and made her way over where an already tipsy Marco threw himself onto her, "I LOVE YOU ALEX!" he said happily, "you're my favorite lezzzbyan" he slurred.

"Thanks," she said with a smirk, patting him on the back, amused by the way he threw himself onto her. She turned around only to be met by Paige, who was excited to see her, "I'm so glad you came!" she yelped happily, "ready to have a good time?" Alex nodded. As she sat in one of the comfy chairs next to her friends, she noticed Jay lingering off in the distance, pacing slowly, looking her way.

Alex stood up, "Excuse me guys" she said as she beelined towards him. Nobody really noticed her leave, they were too immersed in each other's conversations and jokes that it barely phased them. She was glad for that. Alex was still very angry inside, especially after not being informed about the eviction letter, but for some reason she figured Jay would be able to help ease her frustrations.

"What are you doing here?" she asked after she stopped in front of him.

Jay stopped pacing, "looking for you." and with a little sweet talk and saying "I've missed you, Lexi, hang out with me tonight", he was able to convince Alex to party with him and their old friends. First, though, he handed her a concoction of sorts he made earlier in the night, "its on me" he said, smiling.  
"I'm not looking to get drunk tonight, Jay, I'm too pissed off for that--"

"no no" he said, "just taste it and tell me what you think. Just juices"

Alex apprehensively took a sip of this funny colored concoction she had in her hand. To her surprise, it was really good! "no alcohol?" she asked.

Smirking, and lying, Jay replied, "not in that batch—good huh!" he thought to himself, _you cant even taste the 151 in there—two of those suckers and she'll be waaaaasted. "_Good ol' Lexi, now lets go party!" and he pointed to a room where their old friends were hanging out. For some reason she was already starting to feel better.

"Beer Pong!" she yelled excitedly as she entered the room filled with her old friends. Jay came strutting in behind her, surveying the room. These old friends are the ones who dropped out or got kicked out of school so it's definitely a wonder how they knew about this particular graduation party.

She began playing beer pong with a couple of guys, drinking even more of that flavored concoction as the night drew on. She started getting loud, and as she said earlier in the week, that "destructive dumbass gene" began showing itself. Jay knew far too well how easily influenced Alex became once intoxicated, and this time, he used it to his advantage and began spewing toxic rumors about her new friends, especially her girlfriend, Paige.


	10. something wicked this way comes

"Marco" Paige said sounding concerned, "I know you're intoxicated, but Alex has been gone a while..." she said standing up, helping Marco to his feet as well.

"_What the Fuck Nunez!" _ shouted an angry voice from the other room, alarming Paige, Marco and Hazel who looked at each other before running to the other room just in time to see Jay pulling Alex off of somebody she had just punched in the face who was now lying on the ground.

"What's going on?!" Shouted Hazel looking at everybody in the room, wondering what caused the fight. Paige noticed Alex looking a bit disorganized and confused as she picked up the cup she was drinking and smelled what was in it. Her second cup. She looked angry as Paige made her way over to her, "Whats in this?!" Alex demanded, looking at Jay.

"151" Jay said confidently while chomping on the piece of gum in his mouth. Alex angrily threw the cup at him, barely missing him, "who do you think you are, Jay!" she yelled, running up to him and pushing him backwards, "Why in the hell would you do shit like that to me?!" she was just intoxicated enough to figure out what he did, but too intoxicated to realize the lies he said weren't true, therefore making her confused.

Jay stopped smiling and looked more irritated than anything else, but he began swearing and yelling back "I'm the only one who cares about you, Lexi!" he said, "these freaks dont care about you like I do!", which only made Paige become defensive—she hated when people fought, and Paige began yelling at him for assuming she didnt care about Alex. Jay got pissed and absent-mindedly pushed her out of his way while he continued yelling at Alex, which set Alex off even more and before anybody could stop her she pulled a punch which landed on the side of his head, knocking him to the ground. She immediately jumped on him throwing wild punches, "_how do you like it, huh! This'll teach you to not hit girls!" _but before she could get one more punch in, Marco and Paige hurriedly dragged her off of Jay, "Please Stop this Alex!" pleaded Paige wide eyed. Alex jumped backwards, pointing a finger at Jay, "that jackass stole money from my mom last month! Oh and guess what Jay!" she shouted, taking a step forward only to be stopped by Marco, "we've been evicted cuz my mom cant pay the rent now!" She looked at Paige, "and Jay says you think I'm just like my mom, a worthless drunk!" which made Paige turn to Jay as Hazel was still yelling at all the other kids in the room for not stopping this ordeal, but before Paige could do anything, Marco snapped, "Paige, dont hit him!"

Giving him a death glare, she asked, "why not!"

"Because I want to!" he said as he swung around and popped Jay square in the mouth.

"_Everybody Out of My House!" _shrieked Hazel, "_NOW!"_ and everybody knew not to get on her bad side so they quickly began running in every direction, spilling beers and falling over each other.

In all the chaos Paige lost Alex but figured she ran outside too. Alex was trying to start a fight with Marco, as the toxic words Jay had said were that Marco thought she was a coward. Alex turned her anger to Paige when she saw her come out of the house, but before she could do anything Paige ran up to her and quickly grabbed Alex's arms, trying to get her into a hug to contain her, "_You're not like her, Alex! You are not Her!" _she pleaded, _"You are so much better than this!" _as she pinned a drunk, struggling Alex to the outside of the house. "You have me, Alex! And I _need you!"_

Alex stropped struggling when she heard the last words and wiggled her way around to look at Paige's face, who looked as though she had tears in her eyes. It was as if a light switch had just turned on in Alex's brain and she realized what had just happened.

All in one instant, Alex's facial expression changed from hurt and confused to relieved as she let herself just collapse in Paige's arms, letting the days frustrations float away. As strong as she is, there are just some things she shouldnt fight alone.

Without talking, Paige was able to lead Alex back into the house where Hazel had already made up places to sleep for her three friends. Marco was already passed out on the couch, and Alex felt the way he looked- exhausted and terrible. She half threw herself onto the floor and just as soon as she got comfortable, she too was passed out.

Hazel and Paige went into the other room to discuss the night's events while intermittently cleaning up the left over cups from the party.  
The two looked at each other but couldnt speak, just open-mouthed, shaking their heads.

"who invited Jay?" asked Hazel, they both laughed since he was the reason the several fights broke out.  
"That girl is tough" noted Hazel, scrubbing the counter top, "you can tell she's never had anybody look out for her." she paused pensively, "I could never imagine living like that, having only myself to count on when the going gets tough." and for the first time since Paige and Alex have been together, Hazel genuinely said, "take care of her, Paige, and let her take care of you. You guys need each other."

Paige pursed her lips before answering, "how could Jay say things like that? And she believed him, which is the worst part." she looked at the floor before picking up an empty cup, "I dont know if we can fix this..."

**Author's Note; LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. dun dun duuuun**


	11. I'll show you

**AUTHOR's NOTE: this chapter is rated M so please dont read if you're easily offended. haha. R&R please! (o:**

Paige pursed her lips before answering, "how could Jay say things like that? And she believed him, which is the worst part." she looked at the floor before picking up an empty cup, "I dont know if we can fix this..."

Looking confused and somewhat alarmed, Hazel replied, "fix what?!"

Realizing she was off topic, Paige smiled and held up the broken coffee cup she picked up off the floor.

"Ohmygawd" Hazel said quickly, "dont do that when we're having a heart to heart, jerk! I thought you meant Alex!" they both chuckled.

"Oh no, definitely not—I plan on being with her for as long as she'll have me!" she looked out towards the darkened living room, "for some reason tonight just intensified my feelings for her and if she weren't passed out drunk I would be in there right now telling her how I feel."

and with that, the two finished cleaning up the kitchen before tackling the side room on the other side of the kitchen. It was just before midnight and neither of them were tired. After they finished cleaning up the area they went back to the kitchen for a midnight snack. Paige sat on one of the stools with her elbows on the island counter, chatting with Hazel who was on the other side, making their snack.

In the mean time, having passed out around 10:30 or so, Alex woke up and looked around the room with her eyes, slowly adjusting to realize she wasnt home. She shot up immediately only to be met by a raging rush of what had to be a hangover from just hours before! Just as fast she lay back down with her arm over her head and eyes. Everything from the party came racing back and Alex immediately remembered the fight – Jay pushing Paige, Alex believing Jay's lies, yelling at her friends, accusing Paige, hitting several people in the face! _What have I done_ she thought to herself _Oh my god, I have to fix this_! She shot up again, this time with her hand covering her forehead, looking around the room for Paige but realizing it was too dark to really see anything. She noticed the kitchen light was on and fumbled for a second to get up. What ever time it was, she was completely sober with a raging headache. As soon as she took 3 steps she hit the edge of a coffee table with her knee, knocking everything to the ground with a loud _CRAAASH, _just as she fell forward as well, breathing out, "oh shit" before catching herself.

"What was that?!" Hazel said looking somewhat alarmed as the two girls looked at each other before quickly making their way to the living room where they saw Alex trying to stand up, holding her knee, swearing at herself.

"Alex!" gasped Paige who ran towards her.

"Paige, Paige!" breathed Alex as the two quickly wrapped their arms around each other, "I am so sorry, I didnt mean to hurt you, I didnt know Jay put alcohol in my drinks, I shouldnt ha--"

"stop" Paige interrupted calmly, "you dont have to justify, hun." and she pulled away to gaze at her lover's face, which turned from a fearful expression to relieved once again. Then Paige joked, "you cant push me away that easy, hun" which made Alex bury her face into Paige's neck, realizing once again that this is what love is supposed to feel like, happy and supportive, not full of empty promises and let downs.

The following day, Paige and Alex spent the whole day together, window shopping at the mall, chasing each other in the park and lounging around at Paige's house. _and tonight_, Paige thought to herself, _I'm going to show her how much I care about her._

The two rented a new movie that just came out on DVD and plopped themselves down on the very comfortable couch in the living room, but Alex could barely keep her eyes off of Paige to notice much of the movie. Alex was laying with her head on the arm of the couch and her legs laying happily over Paige's lap. After much giggling and laughing, the movie ended and Paige asked, "So how'd you like the movie?!" Paige chuckled as she turned it off and made herself more comfortable on top of Alex.

"loved it" replied Alex as she stole a kiss from Paige.

"what are you talking about, you didnt even look at the screen!"

"you mean, you weren't the movie?" asked Alex, pretending to be puzzled.

"cute hun!" Paige said as began lightly touching Alex's stomach with her fingertips.

"I think last night proved to me just how in love with you I am" Alex said as Paige began kissing her neck, "you know, I'm pretty sure I could be a stalker type if we break up on bad terms." she said confidently, wondering how far Paige was going to go.

"well then, looks like we wont be breaking up then, will we" Paige smiled as she kissed Alex deeply on the mouth. Alex let out a muffled moan of satisfaction as Paige's hands continued their delicate journey up her shirt, teasing her breasts with her light touch. Paige helped Alex out of her shirt and bra before cupping her mouth to one of Alex's breasts, making her shiver.

After a few minutes of foreplay, Alex couldnt take it any longer and pulled Paige up to her, "I want you inside me" she panted breathlessly. Paige quickly unzipped Alex's pants and teased with her fingers, feeling how wet she was before entering her slowly, making Alex gasp with pleasure. Her hips moving up and down, Paige moving faster and harder with every stroke, kissing Alex's neck. She kissed Alex's mouth hard this time which sent her over the edge and within moments she was coming with so much intensity that it made her whole body tense up as she arched her back. This only turned Paige on even more and she continued to fuck Alex long into the night.


	12. The Out House

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: thanks guys so much for the comments. hopefully this chapter isnt rushed, I feel as though it might be. R&R PLEASE! **

The next few months were filled with college orientations, apartment huntings, many small gatherings with friends since everybody was going off in different directions, and of course the figuring out of what classes to take.

Going to the community college, Alex figured she had it pretty good, she only had to take 4 classes compared to everybody else's 6. plus, she only had to go 3 days a week instead of the normal 4 to 5. However, the oddest piece of it all was that she _chose_ to take a Saturday class. At 9 am to say the least! Who just wants to learn about English Literature at 9am on a Saturday!

Alex, Marco and Dylan rented a beautiful 3 bedroom house smack dab in the middle of where they were going to school, which just means it was roughly 15 minutes to Toronto U. in one direction, and 15 minutes to Alex's community college in the other. They all decided to give it a name since it was their first very own house together. After several days of thinking, and a few discussions, they all finally agreed on The Out House. "why The Out House?" asked Hazel when she noticed the sign on the door when she went to visit before classes for her started.

"Play on words" Alex said simply, "and besides, its funny. And the old folks" she said, implying Dylan and Paige's parents, "wont know what it means when they come and visit."

"I dont get it." Hazel replied, folding her arms.

Marco laughed, "you are so Straight! We cant necessarily call it The Gay House, now can we?"  
thinking for a second, Hazel finally got it, "Oooohh!!" she thought for another second and pointed at Dylan, "but you're not out."

"Exactly" Marco replied still laughing.

The first few weeks of classes seemed to go really well for everybody, especially for Alex who appeared to become very popular in her Introduction to Fencing class, and her Ultimate Frisbee class.

"Who knew Frisbee was a taught class" Marco joked one day as they were all sitting around the table playing cards.

"I know!" replied Alex excitedly, "and who knew I was any good! Oh, and what's cool about fencing is that my professor says I have natural talent." she thought for a moment as she put down her hand of poker and won the round, "maybe I could miner in it." with that, she chuckled as she took what was in the pot for poker chips.

"well hun," Paige began, "do you know what you want to major in yet?" she took a seat next to Alex since she just got done finishing her homework for the week.

"not yet, I mean...I dont know, I have a few weeks left before I have to declare." she smirked, "I was thinking of Psychology or something. Cuz then I could work with kids who are like me – 'troubled'."

Being serious, Marco replied, "yeah, that would be very neat, Lex. Nobody knows better than those who have lived it first hand."

Alex thought for a moment, "you know what Marco, I was actually just kidding, but since you put it that way, I would totally dominate the major and kick ass! Sweet, thanks buddy" she said, smiling, as she just won another hand at the poker game they were playing.

Being that Paige lived in the dorms at Banting, she only visited on the weekends, but sometimes only every other weekend depending on what kind of project or test she had coming up. At first she was really happy to be there but as time went on, she began struggling more and more to even keep up with every demand from every teacher. Paige was definitely looking forward to being able to transfer to Toronto U in just a few short months. One thing she wasnt used to was that she was no longer the popular one. She was just another face in the sea of other faces, and she was barely making any friends. Her plans were definitely getting derailed, especially when she arrived at the Out House the following week with a D- on one of her projects.

All day Saturday she laid on the couch and sulked. Alex had gotten home from her English class at noon and wanted to go out and do something with Marco and Paige, but Marco was too busy doing homework and Paige was too busy sulking. Alex threw herself into the new double stuffed cream colored chair they all just bought, and dangled her legs over one of the arms. She was facing Paige, but talking to Marco, "Hey Marco" she said, but not looking at him, instead focusing her attention on Paige who was curled up on the couch, "so there's a big moron and a little moron standing on a roof." she began to smile, "the big moron falls off. Why didnt the little one fall of?"  
"No idea, Lex" he replied as he sat at the desk in the living room doing his homework.

"Because the little one was a _little more on!_" and with that, she laughed out loud, trying to lift the spirits of the other people in the room, slapping her knee for effect. "Come on guys! Why are you so down?!" she asked desperately.

"not all of us are as cool as you are, Alex," sulked Paige as she turned over to look at her girlfriend. Paige then faked a smile just before Alex shot out of the chair and charged Paige, stopping just in time to be able to tickle her. She started pushing her up and down by the shoulders, all the while saying "You. Are. Going. To. Get. Through. This. Paige!"

Paige was laughing, "Stop it, you're going to make me pee a little!"

Still pushing on her, Alex replied, "Only. If. You. Look. At. The. Bright. Side!"

Marco couldnt help but notice the two squabbling and he turned away from his studies, then noticed that Alex got a haircut and let her know he liked it, "hey Lex, I just noticed you got your hair cut, I like it."

Alex stopped teasing Paige long enough to turn her head to say, "thanks Marco!"

but before she could get back to what she was doing, Paige was able to tackle her to the floor and straddle Alex, laughing the whole time, "let me just sulk, PLEASE!"  
"I will if you go out with me tonight!" replied Alex breathlessly before stealing a sweet kiss from Paige.

Paige growled, then said, "you dont make things easy for me, do ya!"


	13. it all come tumbling down

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: just to warn ahead of time; this chapter may seem very rushed. I got an idea for another fic and this ending chapter leads into it. the start of a sequel if you will. Dont hate if you think it's too rushed, but do R&R PLEAAAAASE!!**

A few days later Alex came running up the front steps of the 3 bedroom house very excited. So excited, in fact, that she tripped on one of the steps coming up the porch and almost face planted into the front door! Marco saw this out of the corner of his eye when he looked up from his homework and watched in amusement how Alex caught herself, paused and looked around, brushed herself off then continued to stampede into the house, having lost none of her excitement. She entered and saw Paige coming in from the other room as well then proceeded to pounce on her, "I am so head over heels excited right now guys, you dont even realize!"

"whats up, hun" smiled Paige as she noticed the excitement.

Alex stuttered, "um, mum, my. My fencing teacher has given me the opportunity to study fencing at Cambridge in England for the rest of this semester and like a month of next semester! He says I'm that good and all I have to do is come up with 500 dollars! I leave next month!"

"Cambridge, no way?!" shrieked Marco, "how exciting is that? That's totally cool, Al!  
"the whole semester?" asked Paige.

"no, just like three months. This is such an incredible opportunity, I mean, I've never even been out of the province of Toronto!" she glanced around, "oh man, I need to go call my mom!" and she ran towards the phone in the other room, yelling back over her shoulder, "she's sober now ya know, she hopped on that wagon!"

Paige wasnt sure what she should be thinking or feeling right now. With all the things going wrong in her life at the moment she wasnt sure if she'd be able to handle the pressure of a 3 month thousands of miles away long distance relationship. Her head was definitely spinning. She was beginning to doubt herself, mainly because of how poorly she was doing at Banting; a life long family dream. The semester wasn't going fast enough. She knew that once she gets into Toronto U and gets into the groove of things, everything would get better, but right now, she was too stressed to even think about anything else, much less the fact that she would be losing her biggest support system.

Later that night while the two were getting ready for bed, Paige sat on the bed and looked at Alex who was still grinning ear to ear. Paige took a deep breath, then said, "I'm scared."

"of what, babe?" asked Alex clueless.

All Paige could say was "of losing you. You're my biggest support out here and I am having such a hard time realizing you wont be here...for three months."

Alex sat down beside Paige and put her arm around her waist, smiled and replied softly, "we can get through this, we are stronger than anything." and she kissed her cheek before proceeding to bring up situations where they have been there for each other and bailed each other out of stupid situations.

"what if I fuck up at Toronto U. also?" asked Paige looking down at her feet.

Alex squeezed her a little, "you wont" she said with a smile, "and you know how I know that?"

Paige looked at her.

"Because Toronto U. is something _You_ want to do, whereas Banting was something your parents wanted you to do." she thought for a second, then put her forehead to Paige's and said, "do the things you love. For you. Not anybody else. And something that you taught me was _you gotta make yourself and keep yourself happy_ before you can even attempt to make others happy."

The next couple of weeks went by uneventful. Paige and Marco took Alex to the airport where they all ended up crying and hugging each other longer than they expected.

"Its only a 7 hour difference" choked Alex, trying to hide her tears, "I'll call you guys every day." and she looked at Paige before giving her another hug, "and stay strong, babe! I love you!"

"Love you more!" replied Paige, not wanting to let go.

Not even a month later, Paige became so depressed she wasnt even sure what she wanted anymore. At least with Alex around she had something to look forward to, but now life seemed dull and boring. And _hard_. "just finish with C-'s at least" she said to herself out loud one day, "I hate school, Marco!" she complained.

"Trust me when I say that Toronto U is not as difficult. Probably same amount of homework, but definitely not as tough. I wish there was something I could do." he thought for a moment, "lets throw a party! We'll invite Hazel and Spinner and Manny this weekend, what do you think! It'll make you feel so much better to be around the people who love you!"

Just then, the phone rang. It was Alex! The phone conversation started well, what with the I Miss You's and the Love You's Cant Wait to See You's. But then Alex asked Paige how things were going. So many things were going on inside of Paige's head, she didnt know what to say.  
Tears filled her eyes, "I dont know what to say, Alex. I dont think I can do this anymore."  
"Do what?" asked Alex confused.

"_This. Everything._ The pressures from school. The pressures from this long distance relationship--"  
"Wait, what are you saying?" she inquired in disbelief, "do you want to break up??"


End file.
